Supervisors honor Navy and Marines for helicopter firefighting efforts

The June 17 proclamations of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors included recognition of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps for their aerial firefighting roles during the county’s May 13-16 fires.

“It certainly added to our ability to save homes and lives,” said Supervisor Bill Horn.

The Marine Corps utilized 24 helicopters, including approximately 20 from Camp Pendleton and four from Miramar, for the firefighting effort. The Marine helicopters performed approximately 1,500 water drops on the Camp Pendleton, Fallbrook, San Marcos, and Carlsbad fires.

The Navy used six different helicopters but had 10 aircraft on call each day. “We’re all local residents, so we’re glad to help,” said Navy Captain Jack Schuller, who is stationed at North Island.

“We were lucky that we only lost as much as we did,” said Col. William Hooper, the operations officer for the Third Marine Aircraft Wing which has operations at Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as well as Twenty-Nine Palms and Yuma.

Schuller noted that the Navy had to evacuate personnel in Fallbrook. The Naval Weapons Station is adjacent to Camp Pendleton, and Navy operations on the Marine Corps base include the Camp Pendleton hospital.

Hooper noted that the military is part of the local community, and some pilots dropped flame retardant in their own neighborhoods.

The response to the October 2003 fires included a memorandum of understanding between the County of San Diego, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Department of Defense to allow the use of military helicopters in firefighting efforts. “We have developed those relationships, and we saw the benefits this time,” Hooper said.

“It is a true partnership here,” Horn said.

The Navy is the primary firefighting force for San Clemente Island. The Navy is also the primary firefighting response team in Guam, where in March a wildfire threatened Navy housing and a refinery. Navy pilots used night vision instruments to fight the fire during darkness, and the Navy also has the ability to fight fires at night in San Diego County.

“We’re continuing to work the response plan,” Schuller said. “We’re training all our pilots.”